All of the material in this patent application is subject to copyright protection under the copyright laws of the United States and of other countries. As of the first effective filing date of the present application, this material is protected as unpublished material. However, permission to copy this material is hereby granted to the extent that the copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentation or patent disclosure, as it appears in the United States Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to the field of emergency response equipment and more particularly to equipment for moving personnel in a hazardous environment such as a fire, war, or natural disaster.
2. Description of the Related Art
Emergency response personnel such as firemen, paramedics, hazardous material technicians, military personnel and special weapons and tactics (SWAT) members put themselves in harm""s way by entering such areas as fires, natural disasters, war and even active crime scenes. Their equipment must be very rugged and designed to do specific jobs during the pursuit of their life saving activities.
Emergency response equipment varies greatly. As an example, fire-fighting equipment varies greatly, from hand tools such as pike poles, axes, roof hooks to power tools such as saws-all, jaws of life, to specialty clothing such as fire-hats, gloves and boots, to self-contained respirators such as Scott air packs and telecommunications equipment and two-way radios. All fire-fighting equipment is designed for use in very hazardous environments. Typically fire fighters hand carry equipment to various locations within a fire. Firefighting equipment is heavy and cumbersome. Therefore it is advantageous to be able to aid in the assembly and transportation of equipment in a fire to various locations. Accordingly, a need exists for a system to transport fire-fighting equipment.
Fires are life threatening be they in a home, apartment, high-rise building or forest. Rescue personnel such as firefighters risk life and limb to rescue people and in some cases actually become a victim themselves. One aspect of firefighting, which is particularly hazardous, is toxic smoke. Toxic smoke contains carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, cyanide and numerous other products In fact, most victims of fires are in fact victims of smoke inhalation. People fall victim very quickly to the noxious smoke and poisonous fumes. Upon arriving at a scene of a fire, rescue personnel quickly determine if there are any people to be evacuated or rescued, knowing full well that a life may be at stake.
A top priority during a fire response is the safety of the occupants and the fire-fighting personnel. Victims are evacuated to a safe location. Rescue personnel typically guide occupants, and/or carry them to safety. In some cases the occupants are injured, or may have passed-out do to the fire""s smoke and or vapors. Moving victims is especially difficult if they are large, heavy or obese.
Moreover, in a situation where there is more than one victim several trips may be necessary to move all of the victims to safety. It is not uncommon during evacuation of the first victim that the remaining victims are exposed to noxious smoke and fumes. Accordingly, a need exists to be able to bring in breathing apparatus to be quickly fitted to one or more victims of smoke inhalation
During the course of fighting the fire it is possible for the firemen to be come injured. In order for the remaining firefighters to move the fallen firefighters they must carry them. In a typical situation the firefighter to be rescued has a Scott air pack on. A Scott air pack is essentially a SCUBA (Self Contained Underwater Apparatus) tank strapped on to the back of the firefighter with a heat resistant facemask. Given the weight and bulk of the Scott air pack along with the other protective clothing such as the fire hat, protective coat and trousers the firefighter is already encumbered with a lot of weight. Therefore it is very difficult when carrying out injured firefighters, which are in full protective gear including a Scott air pack while the rescuing firefighter is also wearing full protective gear including a Scott air pack.
In the case of carrying an injured person who does not have a Scott air pack out to safety, a preferred method is to have the person carried out on the back of the firefighter. This is quite difficult because of the Scott air pack that the rescuer is wearing. Removing the Air pack may be deadly. Accordingly, a need exists for an alternative system and method to transport an injured person from a fire while the rescuer and/or the victim are wearing a Scott air pack.
Still, another hazard faced by firefighters is becoming disoriented in a fire because of smoke, poor lighting and in many cases when the electricity has gone out, there is no lighting at all. A fire is a very confused and disorganized environment. In addition there are often times so much smoke and debris that equipment becomes lost. The life saving equipment may be one room over in a burning building and never used because it becomes lost in the fire. Accordingly, a need exists for a transport structure, which contains some level of lighting and self-locating devices.
Yet, still another hazard faced by firefighters and other rescue personnel is gunfire. Many times in a SWAT situation where people are shot or under gunfire, the rescuers may also be exposed to gunfire. Examples are hostage situations or even shooting at schools. In order to rescue the victims quickly the emergency response personnel must put themselves in harms way. The victims may be under gunfire during the rescue attempt. Accordingly, a need exists for a transport structure, which includes the ability to have some level of protective cover to gunfire for the victims and the rescuers.
Still, another hazard faced by firefighters and rescue personnel is water. During a fire, tremendous amounts of water are sprayed on the fire and the surrounding structures to extinguish the fire and prevent it from spreading. It is not uncommon for the water level to rise up to where equipment is covered and thus lost. Moreover, basements many times fill up with several inches of water. Accordingly, a need exists for a watertight structure that is able to float thus protecting the stored equipment.
Yet, another hazard faced by rescue personnel and firefighters is the exposure to hazardous materials and chemicals including radioactive materials. This may occur in a spill such as from a railroad car or other HAZMAT environments. Accordingly, a need exists for protection against radiation and other hazardous materials in certain types of fires.
One rescue cart or rescue vehicles commonly used in emergency situations is the ambulance stretcher and gurneys. These rescue vehicles typically have wheels and a detachable flat bed-like structure upon which a victim can be strapped. If pushed against an ambulance tailgate the wheels and support structure is designed so as to collapse in a folding fashion thus loading the entire structure and victim very quickly into the ambulance.
However this type of cart does not perform well within a fire because the wheels get caught on debris. Moreover, these rescue vehicles are actually top heavy once loaded. Additionally, the flat structure of the stretcher does not allow for the loading of a firefighter with a Scott air pack on his/her back in a face up position. Accordingly, the need exists for an improved cart for use in a hazardous environment especially in a fire.
Briefly, according to the present invention, disclosed is a rescue cart for the transportation of firefighting and rescue gear into an emergency location. This cart can also be used to transport fallen emergency personnel and more particularly a victim. The construction material of this cart can be comprised of different materials as further described below.
The present invention is a tool box/stretcher with an innovative wheel design. The present invention reduces the workload of rescuers by allowing them to carry a variety of equipment and supplies while using manpower presently available.
The present invention is different than anything currently available, because of its compact size and capacity. The capabilities are further enhanced by allowing the rescuer the ability to provide positive pressure breathing apparatus, as well as providing a thermal barrier for the victim.
The present invention permits one person the ability to carry the equipment that it would have normally taken between 5-15 persons. While being used in Fire Ground operations, The present invention also assists with the removal of victims and the deployment of equipment used during High Rise Fire Fighting, Rapid Intervention, Extrication, Hazmat, Weapons of Mass Destruction, S.W.A.T. and Military applications.
In one embodiment, the present invention has a three wheel inline design that allows it to transverse a variety of obstacles for example 4xc3x974""s, parking stops, crates, concrete blocks, and any type of rough terrain. With the eyebolts integrated into the present invention design, by simply attaching the prerigged rope system, The present invention has the ability to easily and safely be lowered down stairs, ladders and or the sides of buildings. Should the need arise, The present invention can be brought upstairs, it would require a second persons assistance.
In another embodiment, the present invention changes in seconds from a ground based stretcher into an all purpose aerial stretcher (i.e., Stokes Basket) while not requiring the need to change the way the victium has been packaged. This happens simply by placing the two webbing handles together over the patient and connecting them with the prerigged rope system.